Sun’s out, moon’s out? There’s a total eclipse coming.
Calling all sun-gazers (just kidding, please don’t stare at the sun). On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States and Canada. That gives you ample opportunity (and an excuse) to plan a vacation to see it.
For those not in the know, a total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking out the Sun. The sky darkens, everyone holds their breath in awe while staring through a cereal box and then the moon keeps trucking along, the world returning to normal.
Considering the last total eclipse was in August 2017 – and the next won’t be for 20 more years – this really is an event to travel for. In fact, travelers are already getting prepped: we’ve seen a 304% increase in flight searches and a 15x increase in hotel searches for the dates around the eclipse vs. same time last year. So you better make a plan quick. To help, we curated a list of over 20 of our cheapest destinations that will experience a minimum of 2 minutes of totality during the eclipse. Here’s where to go:
Top 10 cheapest flight destinations to visit near the path of totality.
We crunched the numbers to find those destinations on our list that gave the best bang for their buck when it comes to return, economy airfare.
- St. Louis, MO: $337 average airfare
- Pittsburgh, PA: $349 average airfare
- Cincinnati, OH: $362 average airfare
- Louisville, KY: $378 average airfare
- Montreal, Canada: $422 average airfare
- Cleveland, OH: $435 average airfare
- Dallas,TX: $437 average airfare
- Indianapolis, IN: $495 average airfare
- Burlington, VT: $501 average airfare
- Buffalo, NY: $509 average airfare
Top 10 cheapest hotel destinations to visit in the path of totality.
If you’re staying closer to home – or are more concerned about the per diem of your trip – these destinations are where you can expect to find lower hotel rates on KAYAK.
- Montreal, Canada: $217 average nightly rate
- Little Rock, AK: $232 average nightly rate
- Dallas, TX: $247 average nightly rate
- Indianapolis, IN: $289 average nightly rate
- Cleveland, OH: $321 average nightly rate
- Buffalo, NY: $324 average nightly rate
- Cape Girardeau, MO: $368 average nightly rate
- Lake Placid, NY: $390 average nightly rate
- Erie, PA: $407 average nightly rate
- Hot Springs, AK: $417 average nightly rate
Top 10 cheapest places to rent a car near the path of totality.
For those planning to rent a car while you’re there, these are the destinations with our cheapest daily rental car rates.
- Montreal, Canada: $59 average daily rate
- Indianapolis, IN: $72 average daily rate
- Pittsburgh, PA: $77 average daily rate
- Burlington, VT: $78 average daily rate
- St. Louis, MO: $80 average daily rate
- Louisville, KY: $89 average daily rate
- San Antonio, TX: $89 average daily rate
- Cincinnati, OH: $90 average daily rate
- Cleveland, OH: $90 average daily rate
- Dallas, TX: $93 average daily rate
Methodology: KAYAK curated 20+ destinations expected to experience 2+ minutes of totality during the 2024 Solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. From there, we considered flight, hotel and rental car destinations with the lowest average rates across KAYAK for search dates between 1/13/2023 and 1/12/2024 for travel dates between 4/5/2024 and 4/10/2024. For year over year comparisons, the same search dates in 2022/2023 and travel dates in 2023 were used. Airfare is for round-trip, economy itineraries only. Prices are on average and are subject to change.
